Riding a tide of investment, condominiums rise near a yacht club on
our quest for more local autonomy," he told
me. At present these taxes are collected
and spent-by the territory itself.
I found another story of Puerto Rican
emergence in a dusty, backcountry com
munity called Profit, where many of the
wooden houses are little better than shacks.
Hot and parched, I stopped one Sunday af
ternoon at the Rancho Alegre bar on Center
line Road.
Inside I found friendly faces, cold cer
veza, and a spirited dominoes tournament.
Among Puerto Ricans (and down-islanders)
236
dominoes amounts to a contact sport, with
players shouting aggressively as they slam
down their pieces.
One of the contestants that day was an
intense 27-year-old named Pedro Cruz. Al
most single-handedly, this up-and-coming
community leader had rallied his neighbors,
lobbied the senate, and finally won funds to
build recreation facilities for the commu
nity. Another Juan Luis, I thought.
Nearby, the Cofresi cockpit, owned by a
local attorney, draws enthusiastic down
islanders and Crucians as well as Puerto
NationalGeographic,February1981